Centaur
|reference = monst.c#line1152 }} |reference = monst.c#line1158 }} |reference = monst.c#line1165 }} Centaur is a monster class in NetHack. Centaurs come in three varieties: * plains centaur * forest centaur * mountain centaur A centaur is a monster that is a particular cross between a human and a horse; it has the body and legs of a horse, but where the horse's head would be, it instead has the upper body, arms, head and face of a human. Centaurs can wield weapons and use magic items, but unlike many other intelligent monsters, centaurs can also move fast and they can kick you. Forest centaurs are generated with a bow and 3-14 arrows, the other varieties get a crossbow and 3-14 bolts. Thus centaurs are dangerous in melee; their rapid and repeated use of wielded weapons (or bare-handed combat) combined with kicking can quickly harm or kill your character. A centaur with ranged weapons may shoot you. Shoot back or send your pet. Some centaurs may start peaceful, so you need not worry about each one that you encounter. As a pet Equipment Centaurs can use: * Weapons * Shields * Helmets * Gloves * Amulet of lifesaving * Unicorn horn * Potion of gain level Centaurs make superb steeds; while not quite as fast as a unicorn or a warhorse, a centaur is still very fast - a mountain centaur has a base speed of 20 and when zapped with a wand of speed monster is even faster than a player in speed boots. And unlike a unicorn or warhorse, a well-equipped centaur can take quite a beating, even in Gehennom. They can return quite a beating too: a centaur is the only steed that can equip a weapon, and given a powerful weapon (perhaps a throwaway artifact weapon from sacrificing) can easily match the damage dealt by a dragon or a jabberwock. Centaurs are very easy to keep fed, which is of particular importance where steeds are concerned. Every time you attempt to ride a steed, its tameness is decreased by one (except for knights). While ki-rin are sometimes regarded as the "best" steeds, they do not eat, and thus they are notoriously difficult to keep tamed for every class besides the knight. Just take care if you kill a shapeshifter, unless you dismount first and dispose of the corpse, your centaur is very likely to get to the corpse first if you ride over it. Centaur cannot fly, however, so like all land based steeds take care around water, and ice too for that matter - it is very easy to slip off the steed on water you've frozen and then displace your steed into the unfrozen water, drowning it. Polymorph traps are not a problem for the centaur if the player has magic resistance, this will protect the steed provided you are riding it at the time. The player's reflection will not transfer to the steed, but a centaur can equip a shield of reflection. Encyclopedia entry }} References Category:Monsters Category:Monster classes